How I did it: In December 5th, 2008, my dear little dog died. He was like... kinda family for all of us. It was horrible... And then I started to think... he was "just" a dog, an ordinary animal. The only difference between my dog and all the other animals is that we developed a lot of affection for him. So I thought "I feel terrible for him, but I eat other animals like him". Ok, I used to eat cows, porks and etc, but animals still.
One day I decided that I didn't want it for my life. I can't harm nature. At least, not ANIMALS. That's my own nature.
I just... stoped. I couldn't eat that anymore. I used to be the most barbecue fan in the world. I just stoped.
Of course it was tempting, but I holded still.
I went to the doctor, did some blood tests and she prescribed me a diet, which should replace lack of  protein in my body.
It's been almost 2 years now, NO meat, NO animals. I'm still healthy. Actually, I feel healthier, because now I now what exactly what I must eat.

Lessons & tips: Think. You must be a thinker, for anything in your life.
We have evolved to a stage of scientific development and knowledge which can provide us other ways to feed and survive.
Society has also evolved. We don't need to kill for survival. We don't.
I feel now more connected to nature than before. I feel like I'm part of it, and not just an explorer.

Now some tips:

• You must have a real reason. Your philosophy of life, yout religion, anything. Otherwise, it won't make sense, and you'll give up.

• I didn't do that at the beginning, but you can watch those movies that show how they treat animals before they get to your plate.

• People will laugh at you. And you wanna know what to do? Laugh with them. Show that their opinion does not have affect on your acts and decisions.

• People will ask things like "oh! what about de vegetables? They are living beings too!". You can make up your own answer for that, but try always to be funny, 'cause they won't have a reply.

• Try to read some biology stuff. Not complex stuff, only the necessary to know animals suffer, feel pain just like us. Read about the animal's nervous sytem. Study Darwin's theory and you'll see that we are not so different from the other animals.

Resources: The philosophy of Otep Shamaya has influenced me a lot. She is writer, musician, poet, thinker... one of the most incredible artists nowadays. She's a vegan. (I'll get there).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otep

You can search for institutions such as PETA.
http://www.peta.org/index_landing.asp

Oct 02, 2010, 09:29AM PDT | 0 comments | 4 cheers